Sandblasting has become the key method for finishing most modern jeans requiring that ‘worn-out’ look. Under the sandblasting process the denim is smoothed, shaped and cleaned by forcing abrasive particles across it at high speeds. The process is fast and cheap and demand for pre-worn denim has led to a massive rise in its use. But this fashion comes at a price: the health and even the lives of sandblasting workers. The Deadly Denim report from March 2012 describes the true cost of these blue jeans.

Sandblasting has become the key method for finishing most modern jeans requiring that ‘worn-out’ look. Under the sandblasting process the denim is smoothed, shaped and cleaned by forcing abrasive particles across it at high speeds. The process is fast and cheap and demand for pre-worn denim has led to a massive rise in its use. But this fashion comes at a price: the health and even the lives of sandblasting workers.

On 24 April 2017 the Clean Clothes Campaign network will be remembering those killed and injured at Rana Plaza, the multi-story building which collapsed in Bangladesh four years ago. In a statement released today Clean Clothes Campaign sends its thoughts and sympathies to those still grieving for their loved ones, and those still suffering from the physical and psychological scars left by the disaster.
Clean Clothes Campaign is also marking the fourth anniversary of Rana Plaza by outlining a set of key actions needed from governments, brands and employers on building safety, workers rights and transparency. These actions are needed to deliver the fundamental change promised in the aftermath of the disaster.

Tomorrow, 18 May, the third annual review of the so-called "Sustainability Compact" between Bangladesh, the European Union and the International Labour Organization takes place in Dhaka. Despite optimism voiced by the EU, Bangladesh is still far from meeting its international labour rights' commitments and taking concrete steps enshrined under the Compact. A striking example is the wave of repression which the the Bangladeshi labour movement has faced since December 2016. Clean Clothes Campaign calls upon the EU, as well as brands, national governments and other stakeholders, to maintain pressure on the Bangladeshi government to improve labour conditions and comply with the Compact's demands.

A devastating fire in a Bangladesh textile mill at the beginning of this month reaffirms the need to extend and expand the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord), due to end in May 2018. The Accord, established four years ago to improve structural, electrical and fire safety in Bangladesh's garment factories, entered its final year last month and is currently in the process of being renegotiated. While the Accord covers 2.5 million workers in the ready-made-garment industry, workers in Bangladesh's textile mills remain unprotected by this agreement.

The Clean Clothes Campaign slams the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) for celebrating, on 26th June 2013, its tenth anniversary when it has yet to live up to its responsibilities for redress or prevention following the deaths and injuries of thousands of workers in the Rana Plaza tragedy.

CCC welcomes the agreement that was reached between unions in Bangladesh (IndustriALL Bangladesh) and global brands Inditex and New Look on the compensation for the families of 8 workers who died in a fire at Smart Fashions on the 26th of January this year. The workers were young women, six of them aged between 16 and 20 years old.

The Clean Clothes Campaign, along with trade unions and labour rights organisations in Bangladesh and around the world is calling for immediate action from international brands following today's collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Savar, in Dhaka Bangladesh.

Clean Clothes Campaign is sickened by the preventable collapse of Rana Plaza and condemns brands for their failure to prevent such heavy loss of life once again. Brands must now come forward, ensure emergency steps are taken and pay without delay into a compensation fund for the victims and their families. They must also commit to prevent future disasters.

The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) is giving a cautious welcome to the announcements of five brands implicated in the Rana Plaza tragedy that they will pay compensation to victims of the building collapse last Wednesday. They also urge more of the 50 plus brands linked to the disaster to step forward. The details of the brands’ proposals have not been published.